An e-Magazine for Exemplars and Those Who'd Like to Be.
Monthly insights from Jaime Torchiana on performance, excellence, and what sets top performers apart.
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The Hardest Part of Learning Isn't Finding Answers. It's Letting Go of Assumptions.
As a proud Penn State alum, I wasn't exactly sure how I'd feel standing next to the Panther Shrine at Pitt a few weekends ago. 🐾 But Allegra begged for a picture with me and that doesn't happen very m...
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From the Stands: Observations on performance, leadership, and the choices people don't always see.
In the fourth quarter of this nail-biter, Aaron Rodgers threw the ball away. From the stands, it looked awful. Careless. People groaned. The guy next to me booed. Then the replay came up on the Jumbotron....
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The Last Race of the Season. Wasn't.
At 4:30AM Sunday morning, I called my dad. My race sherpa. The guy who has stood in the rain, the cold, the heat, and countless transition areas waiting for me to do something voluntarily uncomfortable. "Good morning," I said. "Go back to bed."...
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"Race Who Shows Up" and Why Movement Changes What You See
"Race who shows up." That was Coach Holly Benner, ACC's advice before last Sunday's race. And it turned out to be a pretty good lesson in performance....
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The Hidden Advantage of Full-Circle Moments
Lately I've found myself wondering whether I'm simply getting older... ...or whether something else is happening. Over the past month I've experienced several moments that felt strongly emotional and strangely familiar....
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Everyone Paid Hundreds of Dollars...to Watch Through a Screen
I spent last Friday night surrounded by nearly 70,000 people. And thousands of them weren't actually "there." Yes, they were physically inside the Linc stadium. But many experienced the Morgan Wallen "I'm Still the Problem" concert through a six-inch screen, recording almost every song....
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A Letter I'll Never Forget
Over the years, I've received kind feedback from clients. But one note still stops me in my tracks. I found it just the other day, while I was looking through an old project file....
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I Never Pay for VIP Bike Racking. But I Do Bet On Myself and Why You Should, Too.
This past weekend, I had the privilege of winning the DelMoSports, LLC Philly Women's Duathlon. (I know, 🙄. Not a typo - it's race season!!!). It was anything but comfortable. 🥵 For most of the race, the woman in second place was closer to me than my own shadow. I heard her breath and her footsteps. She got out of transition faster than me. Twice. The only reason I held the lead is because I had an incredible bike leg, and I ran my way back into the lead when she passed me on the first run....
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The Most Expensive Mistake Leaders Make Isn't Choosing the Wrong Solution. It's Choosing One Too Soon.
Every day I look at an old Honest Tea bottle cap sitting on the ledge of my whiteboard. It reads: "An undefined problem has an infinite number of solutions." —Robert A. Humphrey. It reminds me how often organizations become attached to solutions before they've fully defined the problem....
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The Right Kind of Hard
At the start line, something felt off. Not the course. Not my legs. Not even the nerves. Well, maybe the nerves. It was my sweat. It smelled differently. Not to be gross...but it wasn't the clean, famili...
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The Grief of a Goal You Don't Pursue
This past weekend at my daughter's Rugby PA State Championships, I wore my Team USA gear. And no, I’m not going to Abu Dhabi. With everything happening in the Middle East, it just doesn’t feel like...
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I'll either win or I'll learn… maybe both.
That’s what I wrote to my coach going into my first race of the 2026 season this past weekend. A duathlon at Riverwinds in West Deptford, New Jersey - one I won last year, so naturally… expectations...
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Your AI Blindspot: Why Better Training Still Won't Fix Performance
$400 billion spent on training. And leaders still say it’s not working. That’s not a content problem. It’s a performance problem. My mom just forwarded me a recent (4/24/2026) Inc. article...
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Settle for Perfection - Then Scale It.
At the Guinness Storehouse tour while in Dublin, I learned that the perfect pint takes 119.5 seconds. Tilt. Pour. Pause. Settle. Top off. Not because it has to. Because it works. The pause. The...
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The Science of Sustained Excellence
Why Humans Need Hard Things Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking about a phrase I recently heard: “Effort may be becoming an endangered species.” AI is removing friction from almost...
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The Best Businesses Are Born From Frustration (So Is Ours).
In a recent MasterClass session, Richard Branson said something simple - and when I heard it, I realized he just described Exemplary Performance. He said: “Most of the best businesses come out of...
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The difference between good and great is what happens when no one is watching.
🏉A few months back, I shared a raw moment about my daughter, Allegra, and an "optional" rugby practice she chose to skip. I was frustrated because I know how small, unseen choices compound into big...
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The One Question That Shapes How Work Gets Done
I had two customer experiences recently that stuck with me - for the same reason. Scene 1: My local Sherwin-Williams paint store I was down to the final details - edging and a second coat around...
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